BOTM, 9/06: Wild Turkey 101

It is unclear how any self-respecting BOTM forum could make it well into its second year without recognizing one of the original "premium" bourbons. Well today we're going to right a Straightbourbon wrong and name Wild Turkey 101 to the list as September's Bourbon of the Month. Considered by many to be the quintessential bourbon style, Wild Turkey 101 delivers on taste and value. Jimmy Russell and his Team in Lawrenceburg have been producing great bourbon for years, and even though their line of products has expanded into some fantastic single-barrel and barrel-proof expressions, the continued, ongoing quality of the standard 101 speaks volumes of their dedication to making exceptional bourbon at every price point.

Let's celebrate September, bourbon's greatest time of year, with Jimmy Russell and a glass of Wild Turkey 101!

I love WT 101. I've tried the other more "expensive" bourbons Wild Turkey had to offer and have always come back to this one. While it is not my number one it is probably the most reliable in terms of taste, time after time.

--Mark

When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey; and when I drink water, I drink water.

This is a great choice. WT 101 is my go to bourbon, but not at home. I don't believe there has ever been a bottle of this in my house, yet I probably consume as much of this one whiskey as any other. Shooting pool without a glass of 101 throws my game off, every dive bar I've ever been in has it on the shelf and I can get a classy manhatten made out of it when in a nicer martini bar.

WT 101 is a great baseline for seeing what kind of base whiskey it takes to make the ultra premium whiskies even exist. A great allarounder, it never fails to satisfy.

2010 Bourbonian of the Year

As long as you have good whiskey you're not "unemployed", you're "Funemployed!!!"

I don't think I've bought a bottle of WT 101 for a while. But for years, it was the only bourbon I bought; I think I was introduced to it by the friends in grad school who first got me drinking bourbon. And during the years I explored good beer and other drinks, WT 101 was the only bourbon I kept on the shelf. After the small batch collection came out, I got more interested in bourbon, sought some variety, and started exploring, but didn't buy more WT 101; after all, I knew what it was like. I've put the RR 101 on my short list of favorites, but haven't revisited the WT 101, even though I still consider it a terrific pour at a good price.

Hey, Californians!

Does Osco Drug still run specials on WT101 at $12.99 every three or four months? Does Trader Joe's still sell it at an everyday price of $13.99? That's the way it was when I moved away in August, 2004.

Now I have to pay about $20 here in outback Arizona. (Maybe it's cheaper in the big city of Phoenix.) I've taken to buying it in the 1.75 l. bottle, which my Safeway occasionally marks down three or four bucks from the regular price of $33.95 (IIRC).

I've accumulated enough upscale bottlings, probably enough to last ten years or more, that I seldom revisit the solid, middle-shelf bottlings. Over the last two years I've drunk more Russell's Reserve than WT101. Now I have an excuse to get in touch with my roots, so to speak.

WT 101...a great dependable pour! As I sit here sipping a nice glass of it, my wife has a Chocolate Bourbon Cake in the oven and some Bourbon/Brown Sugar Flank steak marinating in the fridge...all with WT 101.
Looking forward to some good eating tonight, I've already started on the good drinking!